It was about revenue. There's just more to see and do at the new park plus you have suites. Also the Chaser's have been great about filling dates at WP in addition to their own. They had multiple high school and college games, plus as Shatel mentioned, you may have UNO headed out that way.

Let's face it, the Chaser's were probably being offered the worst deal in AAA at TD. They would have been the only affiliated team that did not control their own stadium. MECA would have got the revenue from parking and concessions (at best and they would have taken a significant cut of it from the Chaser's), the Chaser's still would have to leave for about 3 weeks in one of the best months for corporate events, MECA would have been booking the additional non Chaser events, not sure where the Chaser offices would be at TD, I'm assuming they would have had to clear out of the locker rooms and such for the CWS, you would still be trying to sell season tickets to a 24k (and eventually 34k stadium), the list goes on. Once you put the stadium on MECA's land it was game over for the Chaser's downtown.

The prices still beat the mess we would have paid downtown. I park in the free lot at Werner which is fine. I don't believe there is a free lot anywhere on the TD/Qwest complex. Would be on the street only, not ideal for families. Also if a team is sharing revenues with MECA, the prices are even higher.

There's more free parking available downtown than out in BFE...at least until the proposed shopping plaza opens up. Unless you are counting the shuttle bus from Papio West. Also, MECA allegedly offered the Royals all the net proceeds on concessions. The only argument that holds is having to clear out for three weeks, and having to move out of the locker rooms. (Which I would assume they probably do most of at the Trailer Park when they head out on the road anyway...) There should be room to set up offices for both organizations so that the Royals could have maintained their offices during the CWS.

There's room on the outfield concourses for setting up inflatables and even a carousel. Most of those are on trailers, so clearing it out for the CWS shouldn't be an issue.

There may be more downtown, but not right at the stadium. Heck, even the most expensive parking at Werner, that's right outside the main gate is $3 less than any parking at TD.

I can't imagine that MECA was going to give all of the concession revenue to the Chaser's. Have not seen that referenced anywhere....Even if true, you're still leaving out parking revenue, offices at the site, other events, how the suite money/club seats are sold etc.

quote:Shortly after taking control of the Omaha baseball stadium, MECA offered the Royals an opportunity to play at a break-even cost to MECA and the city.

The Royals were not asked to pay any construction costs of the new downtown stadium, only the per-game operating costs of the facility. The Royals would have kept ticket revenue, advertising revenue and profits from concessions.

While we understand that Stein would prefer a much smaller stadium that gives the Royals full control of all revenue streams and scheduling of games, this could not be accommodated in the downtown stadium.

MECA has always been and remains willing to work with the Royals within these constraints. However, we cannot jeopardize the obligations our city has to the College World Series, nor do we think it appropriate to subsidize a for-profit operation like the Royals.

So MECA disputes the idea that they want to make money on the Royals, and that the Royals wouldn't have the advertising and concession revenue from the downtown ballpark. It's not clear whether the Royals would have the ability to customize concessions as they'd like. (For example, a "Thirsty Thursday" promotion with discounted beer and pop prices.)

Interesting that parking wasn't part of the MECA statement. I think the issue with parking wasn't the idea of charging for parking, or the amount (since most other AAA ballparks apparently charge $5 or $6 just like MECA), but really the issue was who gets the revenue. It's an interesting debate on those evenings when there is a ballgame and a concert going on simultaneously downtown.

And frankly, as this thing has developed, I've become more and more convinced that the Royals never really showed much interest downtown after the stadium deal was finalized since they were already well into discussions with Sarpy County at that point.

It's also interesting to note that the MECA letter doesn't mention independent league baseball as well.

Like I said, needing to have offices at the stadium is rightfully a show-stopper for any minor league team. Parking revenue and club seats? Well, that's something that probably was still open for negotiation. The only non-negotiables I could see was needing the park for the CWS. That implies 24k seating and needing to clear out in late June.

There may be more downtown, but not right at the stadium. Heck, even the most expensive parking at Werner, that's right outside the main gate is $3 less than any parking at TD.

I can't imagine that MECA was going to give all of the concession revenue to the Chaser's. Have not seen that referenced anywhere....Even if true, you're still leaving out parking revenue, offices at the site, other events, how the suite money/club seats are sold etc.

Greg

I went down to the game at TD Saturday night to get a 2nd look at the park before the CWS. The only other time I'd been to TD was for the opener and I thought maybe the miserable cold weather had dampened my mood and made me more negative on the park than I should have been.

Honestly, nothing has changed for me.

Yes, parking down there is nowhere near as easy as it is in Sarpy. I park in the free lot as well at Werner. Yeah, it's gravel, but it's a 5 minute walk from the front gate and it's free. At TD, I paid $8 and had to walk farther than I do at Werner. I didn't have the patience to scour the city streets for a random open stall. To me, convenience and affordability in parking rule the day here and Wener wins that battle every time. Even if I paid $2, it would still be better than $8 downtown.

Other thoughts...

Like I said a month ago, I still believe that TD is boring on the inside. As someone that's visited about half the current MLB stadiums, I certainly don't get the tingly "WOW!" factor that Tom Shatel said I'd get. It doesn't feel major league to me. It feels like an unfinished boring facsimile of a MLB park.

Even with a decent crowd of 6k there last night, it pretty much feels like a sea of empty blue seats in a concrete jungle. I believe they need some ribbon panels along the upper facade, but that would cost a pretty penny. probably not in the budget right now. Also, they need to do something in the outfield. If you're sitting at field level, the vaunted views they talked about are overrated at best. You can only see the Omaha skyline if you're down the 3rd base side and can only see the Qwest Center and the Kerry pedestrian bridge if you are high up. If you're in the first rows, you see nothing but cinder block concession stands in the outfield. bleh.

Also, what is the continuing deal with the concession stands at TD? I got in line in the 5th inning for a hot dog and a beer and didn't emerge for another 25 minutes and it was the bottom of the 6th. I guess progress means lines longer than what we had at Rosenblatt? Hmmm.

I guess the thing that I don't get is that WOM seems to think that we're being fleeced in Sarpy by higher prices. I don't see it that way. In the ways I've described, it's a much more convenient experience than downtown. I can choose how much, if anything, I want to pay to park. I can choose to pay less for my ticket than I did at Rosenblatt if I want to just walk around or sit on the grass. I can choose to pay a little more if I want prime seats, but hey, at least I'm not paying the cost to park for a single ticket into the ballpark just to sit in a sea of empty seats like I would have downtown. My mini plan tickets are about $1.50 more than they were in 2010 at Rosenblatt; however, the entertainment value I'm gettin at TD far exceeds anything I ever got at the Blatt and what I would have gotten downtown. So, everybody wins. The team is making more money and people are having more fun. I don't see how that's a bad thing.

quote:Shortly after taking control of the Omaha baseball stadium, MECA offered the Royals an opportunity to play at a break-even cost to MECA and the city.

The Royals were not asked to pay any construction costs of the new downtown stadium, only the per-game operating costs of the facility. The Royals would have kept ticket revenue, advertising revenue and profits from concessions.

While we understand that Stein would prefer a much smaller stadium that gives the Royals full control of all revenue streams and scheduling of games, this could not be accommodated in the downtown stadium.

MECA has always been and remains willing to work with the Royals within these constraints. However, we cannot jeopardize the obligations our city has to the College World Series, nor do we think it appropriate to subsidize a for-profit operation like the Royals.

So MECA disputes the idea that they want to make money on the Royals, and that the Royals wouldn't have the advertising and concession revenue from the downtown ballpark. It's not clear whether the Royals would have the ability to customize concessions as they'd like. (For example, a "Thirsty Thursday" promotion with discounted beer and pop prices.)

Interesting that parking wasn't part of the MECA statement. I think the issue with parking wasn't the idea of charging for parking, or the amount (since most other AAA ballparks apparently charge $5 or $6 just like MECA), but really the issue was who gets the revenue. It's an interesting debate on those evenings when there is a ballgame and a concert going on simultaneously downtown.

And frankly, as this thing has developed, I've become more and more convinced that the Royals never really showed much interest downtown after the stadium deal was finalized since they were already well into discussions with Sarpy County at that point.

It's also interesting to note that the MECA letter doesn't mention independent league baseball as well.

Like I said, needing to have offices at the stadium is rightfully a show-stopper for any minor league team. Parking revenue and club seats? Well, that's something that probably was still open for negotiation. The only non-negotiables I could see was needing the park for the CWS. That implies 24k seating and needing to clear out in late June.

I also noticed your comparison to the MAC on that page and obviously they have greatly exceeded that comparison. I can't come up with any other minor league team that shares parking and club suites with a MECA type authority. They also have control of their stadiums where MECA controls this one. That's huge.

Suite revenue, club seat revenue, naming rights revenue, parking revenue to MECA. MECA offered as an idea that to off-set our season ticket holders paying to park each night that the Chasers discount concession or merchandise to off-set the ticket holders parking expense. Team employees would have had to pay for parking as well. Concessions would have been a split, not taken totally by MECA.

For Offices and Lockers to be stayed in, Chasers would have had to pay for them to not have to move out. And just look at June 2010 schedule versus June 2011 - 8 games versus 16 games at home for Triple-A team.

And yes, Mike, carousels can be portable on trailers, that doesn't sound like something the Chasers would want. Branding areas as permanent and built-out areas for a positive experience - how would that have been done at downtown?

I would ask if you have been to a game or games at Werner Park? Sounds like Greg, Nouse and I are among others that have and have seen what these differences are.

Suite revenue, club seat revenue, naming rights revenue, parking revenue to MECA. MECA offered as an idea that to off-set our season ticket holders paying to park each night that the Chasers discount concession or merchandise to off-set the ticket holders parking expense. Team employees would have had to pay for parking as well. Concessions would have been a split, not taken totally by MECA.

For Offices and Lockers to be stayed in, Chasers would have had to pay for them to not have to move out. And just look at June 2010 schedule versus June 2011 - 8 games versus 16 games at home for Triple-A team.

And yes, Mike, carousels can be portable on trailers, that doesn't sound like something the Chasers would want. Branding areas as permanent and built-out areas for a positive experience - how would that have been done at downtown?

I would ask if you have been to a game or games at Werner Park? Sounds like Greg, Nouse and I are among others that have and have seen what these differences are.

Kind of humorous for you to suggest that MECA was being unfair by not providing the hot dogs for free. (You say "split concession revenue" when MECA apparently offered all revenue above costs.)

And no, I haven't driven out to BFE since January 2010, when I realized that it takes as long to get from 126th & 370 to my home in West O as it takes to get from downtown. I also admit I haven't had a chance to get inside Ameritrade Park either. Maybe the CWS, perhaps? If not, then hopefully a Nighthawks game later this year.

My last experience with the Royals was somewhat dissatisfying, as you know, so I'm not sure why you shouldn't be surprised that I haven't been anxious to head way south.

i had an issue with the ticket office in 2009. I wanted to buy a plan. tried calling them for several days and couldn't get in touch with anyone. very frustrating. couldn't even give them my money. I emailed the general email on the oroyals website and got a personal call back from Martie Cordaro within 10 minutes apologizing for the problem, promising to get to the bottom of it (guess it was a phone issue), and got me in contact with a ticket office rep. Got my tickets ordered and have never had a problem since.

I've found that over the last few years that the employees of the team will bend over backwards to make sure you're happy. Wanted to make sure my seats were decent at the new ballpark this year and one of the ticket execs took time out of his day to put on a hard hat and take me out to my seats in the middle of winter. I'm just a 12 game mini plan holder, not a full season person. I appreciate that.

The franchise rightly earned a reputation in the early to mid 00's as being bad at customer service and ran like a mickey mouse organization. They've done a total turnaround now. I don't have a single complaint with them. Honestly, if WOM is basing part of his venom over some sort of issue with their c/s, I'm pretty sure they could get it resolved.

1. how is TD "more centrally located" when it's on the extreme northeast edge of Omaha. Nothing at all centrally located about that. 72nd street is "centrally located" I'm going to assume your definition of central is driving distance as that's been your biggest gripe against the sarpy ballpark from the start. Well, downtown is no further than 370 for anyone west of 84th and that's about half the city.

2. You can complain all you want about the fleecing of the baseball going public for a $5 admission into the amusement area, but that's kind of dumb. $5 is unlimited from what I understand and includes bounce houses, and jungle gyms. $5 is less than the cost of a beer (except for Thursdays) and certainly less than parking at TD. Also, Centris members get in for free. If you're going to spend alot of time over in the kids area, only spend $6 for a GA ticket or $6.50 for bleachers and there you go. You've evened out the cost compared to the $11 reserved ticket you mentioned (which is only $11 on friday-Saturda) Reserved tix are $9 every other day of the week. Complaining about the $5 for the carousel seems like grasping at straws to me.

3. Very few people are paying $5 to park. I've spent a combined total of $0 in the 6 games I've attended so far. So, another hole in your theory...

4. really? still comparing Werner to the MAC? Apples and oranges much? You're comparing an arena in a relatively low income area of council bluffs with a ballpark in the fastest growing county in the omaha metro area. wow. Of course, the new ballpark smell may wear off, but I fully expect that the amount of people living within 5 minutes of the ballpark that will increase greatly in the next 5-10 years will make up for that. No comparable increase in population can be noted in CB, so it's not comparable.

Not sure what you are talking about on Hot Dogs. The split was above concessionaire's cost, not apparently.

I have been and will continue to go as well as to TD (except for Nighthawks).

I would call the Chasers ticket office and talk to them about your issue. And I am not surprised that you havent beenl or write about things that you haven't attended or have first-hand knowlegde of.

Rather ironic that you repetitively toss out unsubstantiated statements, then suggest that I can't comment on statements made in the local media or that are public information. As I've asked you multiple times in this debate, please elaborate on what you know and how you came to know about it. I attribute as much of what I comment on as I possibly can.

As for my issues with the Royals last season, I did just that last year. Martie Cordaro preferred me to talk to his voice mail box. I do understand why; I've been rather critical of their pet project... What disappointed me was a very feeble attempt to pass the buck on their screwups onto the city. Obviously, they can't do that anymore...

Nouse:TD Ameritrade is not on the "extreme" northeast end of the metro area. There are 60,000 people alone living in Council Bluffs to the east, and thousands more to the north. I'd suggest that there are less than a tenth of that to the west and south of BFE.

I did not call it "fleecing" of the public. I just said that the Whatchamacallits price levels don't make them much of a value. Yes, I could buy berm seats for $6...but those would not be ideal for my young kids. I could park in the free lot, but there are just as many spots in the $5 lot as in the free lot. So pick your poison.

I averaged the weekend and weekday price to get the $11 figure for the majority of reserved seats. Weekdays is $9 + $1.50, and weekends is $10 + $1.50.

Still not "centrally located. Like I said, "BFE" as you call it, is no further of a drive than downtown for almost everyone west of 84th St which is a huge portion of Omaha.

well, if you're going to be spending so much time at the carousel, may as well make your $5 worth it. Don't invest in reserved seats. If berm seats don't work for you, invest another $.50 and get bleacher seats. $6.50 is still less than GA at Rosenblatt for $7 last year. Or, if you're really cheap go on a night like tonight when it's buy one get one with cheese wrappers. Or, as Greg said, get the kids club. No matter how you slice it, the Storm Chasers are a great value. You're just grasping at straws here.

Ummm, did you realize the Storm Chasers added 800 free spots a few weeks ago. I'm pretty sure there's more free spots than the $5 VIP lot you like to hang your argument on. Like I said, unless you're a lazy sloth, you can park for free at Werner without hunting for a spot and walk 5 minutes to the front door. You can't do that downtown without hunting for random public spots (and pray it's not a weekday or you'll be plugging meters).

Yeah, the price for reserved seats is $9 on weekdays and $11 on weekends. However, like parking, you can customize your experience. If you are going to be at the carousel all day, pay $6 for the berm or $6.50 for the bleachers like I said. If you're like me and do nothing but watch baseball spring for the $9/$11 seats. Choice is a good thing and there's lots of value to be had, even over what you paid at Rosenblatt, like I mentioned.

Doesn't matter though. As you've said, you won't be going anyway. So, you've built an argument on a topic you really can't talk about with any first hand knowledge. It's really a credibility issue, IMO in terms of your arguments.

Mike, you might be surprised on the berm seating. My boys are 4 and 6. First game we went to we bought tickets for the home run porch ($6.50, remember as well kids tickets are $1.00 less). Within 5 minutes they were bugging me to "sit in the grass." Same thing happened a couple years ago when I got us great seats at Haymarket for an NU game.

As long as it's not wet, the berm seating is great for the little guys. One game we went this year they were giving away hats so we got there early. The boys got in for $1 each and I only had to pay $6 so it was a great great deal. I think first 50 kids berm tickets are only $1 for every game.

I do think they are still about the best value in town. Defintitely cheaper than the Mavs hockey, CU basketball, or the Nighthawks.

Not sure what you are talking about on Hot Dogs. The split was above concessionaire's cost, not apparently.

I have been and will continue to go as well as to TD (except for Nighthawks).

I would call the Chasers ticket office and talk to them about your issue. And I am not surprised that you havent beenl or write about things that you haven't attended or have first-hand knowlegde of.

Rather ironic that you repetitively toss out unsubstantiated statements, then suggest that I can't comment on statements made in the local media or that are public information. As I've asked you multiple times in this debate, please elaborate on what you know and how you came to know about it. I attribute as much of what I comment on as I possibly can.

As for my issues with the Royals last season, I did just that last year. Martie Cordaro preferred me to talk to his voice mail box. I do understand why; I've been rather critical of their pet project... What disappointed me was a very feeble attempt to pass the buck on their screwups onto the city. Obviously, they can't do that anymore...

Nouse:TD Ameritrade is not on the "extreme" northeast end of the metro area. There are 60,000 people alone living in Council Bluffs to the east, and thousands more to the north. I'd suggest that there are less than a tenth of that to the west and south of BFE.

I did not call it "fleecing" of the public. I just said that the Whatchamacallits price levels don't make them much of a value. Yes, I could buy berm seats for $6...but those would not be ideal for my young kids. I could park in the free lot, but there are just as many spots in the $5 lot as in the free lot. So pick your poison.

I averaged the weekend and weekday price to get the $11 figure for the majority of reserved seats. Weekdays is $9 + $1.50, and weekends is $10 + $1.50.

Mike-call the Chaser's and ask for Martie. Not sure what happened last time but I will buy you a beer or whatever you want at a Mavs game next fall if he does not respond. I contacted him a few years ago during the whole stadium thing and he got right back with me. I also know a friend who had an issue with the team and Martie got back with him and took care of it. If you do not get a response you can post here.

i criticized them on here multiple times on the parking situation in april. it was dumb to have a stadum that could only handle about 5k in terms of on site parking. They added the 800 spots fairly quickly. if they ever approach 9k (which they haven't been close to this year), they will still have to utilize papio south. guess it makes sense. if 9k is a once or twice a year thing, no need to build parking for it.

if they ever approach 9k (which they haven't been close to this year), they will still have to utilize papio south. guess it makes sense. if 9k is a once or twice a year thing, no need to build parking for it.

I'm pretty sure by this point last season, they had hit 9k two or three times. But this wasn't built for 9k crowds; this was built to handle the median (note that's not the average) crowd, and to encourage people to come out when people don't come out.

quote:With a crowd that likely will be smaller than 5,000, there would appear to be a number of options for MAHA, including moving to various local parks. The obvious choice (to me) would be to move the festival to the brand-spanking new Werner Ball Park in Sarpy County. The Stormchasers will be on the road around the dates of the festival, leaving the facility wide open except for the Selena Gomez and The Scene concert at the stadium the night before. With booze permits already in place, it would seem a natural option, though one would think that the facility’s own vendors would take away some of the booze revenues that MAHA would otherwise have received down at the Landing.

I'm going to bet they get pretty close to 9k a bunch on weekends this summer when the corporate picnic season kicks off. Plus they are doing some big fireworks shows around the fourth (multiple dates).

They've already sold 8k tickets for Friday night and are expecting another 1,500 more. Should be the biggest crowd yet...so we'll see.

I was there the other night when there were 5k or so there and it was really nice. Not spectacular...but for what they do...it was pretty good.

I've finally hit the acceptance stage. It's obvious they couldn't work it out downtown, because nobody wanted them downtown. So this is what we got. Is the RoyalGoldenChasterSpikes stadium small and in BFE? Sure I guess. Is the CWS park nice but dark 92% of the year? Sure, I guess.

Yeah, they will start rolling with the weekend crowds. It's also good what they are pulling in on weeknights. No more of those nights where the actuall number of people in the stands is in the hundreds.

I'm still hoping that UNO ends up playing a bunch of home games at Werner as well.

yeah. I attended a relatively cold april game with a buddy. they had about 1,500 there actual. I don't think he'd been to alot of cold weather games at the blatt and he said, "I'm actually worried about this place. this attendance is pitiful."

I said he shoulda seen the same game at the blatt. I attended games there where you could literally count every person in the stands.